“Pigeage” is a French term meaning stirring or gentle manual shaking of grape juice solid parts that float on the top of the tank. It is usually made with a stainless steel instrument or stick, the end of which has a flat part, so that when pressed down, it covers solid fractions with juice or wine. This delicate practice allows the extraction to be slow and to avoid herbaceous notes dominating in the wine taste. This way fruit and expression allows to better identify the variety, in which, like in Graciano, it is necessary to highlight its slight balsamic notes, eucalyptus or laurel type, besides the fruit expression that with Graciano evokes blue fruits like cranberries.

Altos de Rioja Graciano Pigeage is the winery “cum laude”. The grapes come from vineyards over 40 years of age. It is manually harvested, and after a careful selection of clusters, the grapes have their stems removed and is poured into small 2,000-litre deposits. The product is subjected to a 4-day pre-fermentative cold maceration at 8°C, after which it undergoes alcoholic fermentation with rigorous temperature controls between 25-30°C. During this period and from the very first day, stirring is carried out 3 times per day for the grape juice to contact with the skins in a delicate way without abrupt skins damage. The malolactic fermentation is performed in new 85% French and 20% American oak barrels, both selected from the best barrels. During this period, the lees are periodically suspended by “batonage” technique, aging for 15 months in oak with periodic stirring every 5 months. The result is the combination of new oak creamy toasted notes and Graciano fruity complexity. Without a doubt, it is a wine of a different taste to Tempranillo, which is dominant in all wines of this winery.

Altos de Rioja Reserva reaches the very top of long-term aged production, a challenge of wise combination between the grape maturation control and consequent colour and tannins extraction during longer maturation in barrels, allowing a safe ageing. The vineyard, with an average age of 50 years, grown on the plots located in Rioja Alavesa highest areas, on Sierra Cantabria slopes, in Laguardia, Elvillar and Kripan, the Rioja Alavesa heart of the best ‘earthy taste’.

Tempranillo was harvested by hand, cluster by cluster, in small 15 kg boxes and, having entered the winery, placed on selection table, where non suitable grapes were removed. Prior to alcoholic fermentation, a 4-day cold maceration at 8°C was carried out, after which selected yeast were introduced in the deposits and alcoholic fermentation with exhaustive temperature controls was carried out. Once the fermentation was finished, the incubation was continued to complete the polyphenols extraction, which the oenologist considered adequate.

Malolactic fermentation was carried out in best new 80% French and 20%American oak barrels. During oak ageing the wine was placed together with fine lees, with periodic Batonages until reaching 24-month ageing in the same barrels with stirring every 6 months.

This long ageing does not imply the appearance of stronger oak flavour, yet, obtaining its spicy and creamy nuances in combination with Tempranillo mature fruit topped complemented with fine reduction in the bottle. The taste is rounded, oily and persistent.